Hello, everyone! Wow, can you believe it, the fourth chapter. Now lets all take a moment to pause and give thanks to the writing gods for giving me the inspiration to write all the way to the fourth chapter.
(Bows head)
I now must also say thanks for those of you who have reviewed and Fav.
Reviewed: DrakonGurl(ch 3), Blue Fire Kistsune(ch 1), and The Elven-Spear(ch 1)
Fav: DrakonGurl, Blue Fire Kistsune, and The Elven-Spear
And, wouldn't you know the same people alerted this story too? Come on people, I am indebted to these three for life by being brave enough to review, but I know more of you are reading, since there has been 104 hits on the story. I get it the action is slow and I disappeared for 6 months, but the story still deserves your attention. It doesn't even have to be long just a 'loved it', 'liked it', or 'hated it' would be a start. Pleeeeeeassseeā¦.. (Begins to beg).
(Torch drags me off stage)
Torch: (cough cough) well, while the author has a mental breakdown, please enjoy the next chapter of Heart Seekers.
The two girls cautiously step through the black vortex, engulfing them into total darkness. At first all is silent, and motionless, until a forceful wind is felt behind them. Almost ripping their consciousness from their bodies as they are thrust forward at an unimaginable speed, their bodies trailing closely behind. Without warning they come to a sudden stop, losing their balance the two girls tumble out of the darkness onto the ground."Ow" says Riley, as she rubs her head.
"Wasn't expecting that", Artemis adds, while quickly standing up.
"You'll get used to it" Axel replies as he walks towards two tall white doors, Artemis walking behind him.
As Riley stumbles to catch up, she asks "So, what world is this?"
In response Artemis closes her eyes squinting slightly, using her newly found mind's eye in order to see the surrounding area. Quickly opening her eyes she responds "It is fairly obvious."
"Uh, sorry, I don't see it. Then again that makes sense, since I'm not the oracle of sight," says Riley, as she corrects herself somewhat sarcastically. Artemis just shrugs and lets out a small chuckle. They arrive at the two tall white doors, Axel pushes them open saying, "This is the Olympus Coliseum." The girls stare in awe at the colossal stadium, with not a seat empty in the stands.
"This place is much more intimidating in real life" Riley whispers to Artemis.
Nodding Artemis asks Axel, "So, why are we here?"
"To fight in the semi-finials." is his reply.
"What happened to the preliminaries and the beginning rounds?" Riley asks.
"Well, if you two hadn't dilly-dallied back at Castle Oblivion, you could have fought in the whole tournament, but you were too scared to leave without practice. We had to send Demyx to fight in your place; he wasn't too happy about that." replies Axel.
"We weren't scared, we just weren't ready!" exclaims Artemis, in defense.
"Whatever" says Axel with a smirk.
"Exactly who are we fighting?" Riley asks curiously.
"Some guy named Cloud" states Axel.
"Cloud!?" the girls respond in unison.
""You know him?" Axel asks.
"You could say that" Artemis replies with a smirk.
"Why am I not surprised?" he says, walking away.
"Where are you going?" shouts Riley.
"To sign in. Just stay there until you are announced, then enter the ring. Good Luck!" he shouts back.
"This will be an interesting fight" says Artemis.
"Maybe, but I doubt we're going to win. We don't even know Cure or have any Potions, let alone know how to fight with the weapons we have" Riley points out nervously.
"Yeah, but if I'm going to lose, at least it's at the hands of a character I like" proclaims Artemis while clenching her fists, to express how pumped up she is for the fight. After about five minutes of just standing around an announcement is made: "The semi-finals are about to begin. First match Cloud versus the Oracles of Sense."
"I guess that's us," says Riley.
"Let's give this crowd a fight they won't soon forget." Artemis adds, as the girls enter the ring.
"I just hope we survive."
Standing on the opposite end is a man in his early twenties wearing a black shirt, pants, and cloak, with spiky blond hair. The girls summon their weapon in a burst of light, Artemis with her Solar Flare and Riley with her Silent Melody. Cloud in turn draws out his buster sword, which is as long as him, and gets into a fighting stance. The starting bell sounds and the crowd cheers as Cloud lunges toward the girls. He swings his blade at Riley, giving her barely enough time to block; as a result she is flung against the shimmering clear wall surrounding the ring. Cloud, being preoccupied with Riley, allows Artemis to get through his defenses, with a series of combos; however, she is unable to land more than one or two hits. This does not stop Artemis though; she continues to swing away at cloud hoping to spot an opening. Meanwhile, Riley slowly regains balance after taking a critical hit from Cloud's blade. Leaning against the wall, she watches Artemis continuously banging away at Cloud's defenses. Cloud being clearly unaffected by her attempts, just smirks at his superior fighting skills, enjoying the small work out.
Riley whispers to herself, "I guess Artemis' fencing lessons are really paying off." After she catches her breath, she runs forward to join the fight.
Artemis leaps up into the air trying to catch Cloud off guard, when all of the sudden the floor and surrounding walls become pitch black. She can just barely see heartless out of the corners of her eyes, as she jumps backwards to achieve some distance between her and Cloud. Quickly searching with her mind's eye, Artemis is able to see Riley in the darkness.
"Riley, behind you!" Artemis shouts, as she sees two heartless crawl up behind her comrade. Before Riley can react the heartless tackle her to the ground. Pulling her down, through the shadows.
"Help!" yells Riley as she struggles to escape the heartless grasp. Artemis runs towards her, but by the time she reaches the spot where Riley was standing, Riley is already swallowed by the shadows. The darkness lifts and Cloud, unknowing of what had taken place, sprints towards Artemis thrusting his sword right at her. She quickly turns around and their blades clash causing multi-colored sparks to fly.
"I'm your opponent, not the shadows" Cloud whispers into Artemis' ear, just before both jump backwards and they continue their battle.
Riley sinks down into the darkness, struggling to escape the heartless' hands wrapped around her legs. The descendent is slow, as if she were sinking underwater and the heartless continue to claw at her legs, until they meet the ground. She is finally able to kick off her attackers, and stumbles trying to stand. Once stabilized on her feet, Riley begins to run as fast as she can, to put some distance between her and the heartless. The darkness is thick, and she losses track of how far she ran, but continues to run not even bothering to look back. The realm is completely silent, expect for her fast, heavy breathing, and her steady footsteps echoing against the floor. She can feel her body moving faster and faster, her feet moving all on their own despite how tired her legs are. Spotting a small light in the distance she rushes forward, and time seems to stand still, for one minute she is almost more then a mile away, and the next she stepping into the light.
EnergyEmber:
Hem hem, sorry about the little episode I had during the beginning rant, I'm all better now.
So, everyone I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as you are making your way out of the web page, please remember to submit a review. And thank you for your cooperation.
Have a great Easter Break!
